Stranded in Shark Infested Waters (Part 2) - Ed Harrell

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Out of the Depths

Day 2 of 4

Guest: Ed Harrell

From the Series: Mercy at Sea

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Bob: Sixty years ago this week, Ed Harrell was afloat in the Pacific. His ship, the cruiser USS Indianapolis, had been sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Many of the crew members had not escaped. Those who had, found themselves battling for their lives on the open seas with no help in sight. What was in sight were sharks.

Ed: You can't imagine, and I can't explain, you know, the feeling that you have. You know that at any moment that the shark could get you, and you wonder, you know, am I going to be next? You know, you pray and you pray more, and you pour your heart out to the Lord, and just hope and pray that somehow, some way, that He will be faithful to the promise that you feel that He's made to you and that you'll be able to endure.

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Tuesday, August 2nd. Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. We'll hear a powerful story today of courage and faith as we speak with one of the survivors of the USS Indianapolis.

And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us. I somehow missed this in my study of U.S. history. I don't know that I ever was aware that on the night of July 30, 1945, just weeks before the end of World War II, a Japanese submarine, I-58, launched a spread of torpedoes at the USS Indianapolis in the Pacific Theater. Two of those torpedoes found their mark and, in less than 15 minutes, this cruiser sank in the Marianas, and there were almost 1,200 men on board the ship. More than 800 of those men did not survive the attack or the days that followed that attack. And I don't know, Dennis, that I'd ever heard about that battle or about the sinking of the ship, but it's truly a compelling story, especially when you consider that some 300 men were rescued days later.

Dennis: Yes, and we have one of those men who was rescued back with us. Ed Harrell joins us again on FamilyLife Today. Ed, welcome back.

Ed: Thank you.

Dennis: I want to express my appreciation for you, as a veteran, just for serving our nation and also for coming here on our broadcast and telling the story, a dramatic story, of what has to be one of the most phenomenal survival stories, really, Bob, in all of the World War II and maybe in the history of the United States. I mean, what you had to endure and go through. But we'll get to that in just a moment.

Ed is a businessman, was on the board of trustees of Moody Bible for a number of years. He and his wife Ola [ph] have a couple of children and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he is a survivor of the USS Indianapolis. Ed, I want you to take our listeners back, because you shared earlier the story of standing on the deck of this boat – this great, massive boat, over 600 feet long, at midnight as it's sinking in less than 15 minutes. What were you hearing at that moment? It's pitch black, there's a little bit of light from the fires that are burning midship, but what was the sound like? Was it of screams of people? Were there explosions?

Ed: There were still explosions going on for a good while. In fact, when the ship actually went under there were still explosions that were taking place below deck. I don't know that I'm waiting to listen to see what might be taking place. I am eager to get off, and I make my way, then, to the port side and hung onto that rail and said my prayer before I entered into the water, and I knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the Lord had, through the Spirit, was bearing witness with my spirit that He was with me and that I would make it, somehow, some way.

I know, later on, when I was interviewed, they asked me, "What were you thinking out there? Did you think that you were going to make it?" And I said, "I thought of the 30-day leave that I would get for being a survivor and be able to go home," because I hadn't been home for a good while, and I was thinking about going home, frankly.

Bob: You had one what you've described as a kapok jacket, a life preserver, is that what that was?

Ed: That's right.

Bob: And I guess I'm wondering – were there lifeboats on board the ship? Were there inflatable rafts? Was it "man the lifeboats?"

Ed: No word of that kind was given. In fact, you didn't have time, they didn't have time. I could look up and see life rafts hanging, and those kapok jackets hanging, but no word was given to cut those loose, and I never saw a life raft. There were floater nets, likewise, that later floated up, and they spread them out, and boys could somewhat stand in those – not completely, but at least it would keep the sharks from coming up through after them. And then the life rafts, then, some of those floated loose, but I never saw a raft, I never saw one in the water the whole time.

Dennis: That first moment you hit the water, you burst through the surface, you got clear of the oil so you could breathe. Did you begin swimming away from the sinking ship at that point? I mean, again, to those of us who are laymen, a ship going down is supposed to create some kind of vacuum or – and suck survivors back down after it. Did that occur?

Ed: That was my thinking, and I was I a rush – not necessarily a good swimmer, but I was in a rush to get away from the ship, and I got away from it maybe 50 yards, then, to turn, then, to watch it as...